Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4 >
Topic Options
#183810 - 10/01/09 01:01 AM System for collecting rainwater while camping?
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Anybody set up a system to collect rainwater while camping in the rainy season?

Top
#183814 - 10/01/09 01:22 AM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: dweste]
2005RedTJ Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/07/09
Posts: 475
Loc: Birmingham, Alabama
I've never tried it, but it seems like a tarp would work just fine if properly tied/anchored. Have it drain into a bucket or something.

Top
#183826 - 10/01/09 04:56 AM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: dweste]
BigToe Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 01/04/08
Posts: 81
I backback and typically hammock with a tarp. In areas with limited water I will catch the tarp runoff in my wide mouth water containers. It's nice because then I don't have to filter!
_________________________
Men have become the tools of their tools.
Henry David Thoreau

Top
#183834 - 10/01/09 06:07 AM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: BigToe]
dweste Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/16/08
Posts: 2463
Loc: Central California
Originally Posted By: BigToe
I backback and typically hammock with a tarp. In areas with limited water I will catch the tarp runoff in my wide mouth water containers. It's nice because then I don't have to filter!


How do you set things up?

Top
#183837 - 10/01/09 06:25 AM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: dweste]
fooman Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 05/15/08
Posts: 80
A 20x20 tarp suspended between 4 trucks channels lots of water when it rains.

On a smaller scale, Hennessy Hammocks make funnels to channel water off their tarps into standard soda bottles.
http://www.hennessyhammock.com/new-products.html#water

Top
#183875 - 10/01/09 02:03 PM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: fooman]
TeacherRO Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 03/11/05
Posts: 2574
I'd filter it anyway...

Top
#183879 - 10/01/09 02:19 PM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: TeacherRO]
comms Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 1502
Loc: Mesa, AZ
in the southwest its doable but for the most part it rains mud here. so grabbing rain water for start off drinking is pretty icky.
_________________________
Don't just survive. Thrive.

Top
#183892 - 10/01/09 03:17 PM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: comms]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
Just stretch a line between two sturdy objects and clothespin a tarp to it. Having a 2-gallon bucket or something for it to drain into would be handy.

Even in the desert, after it's rained for a few minutes, there's much less dust/sand in the air. You could just strain it through a bandana or coffee filter.

Rainwater is far cleaner than ANY groundwater. I wouldn't worry about contaminants. What you're probably getting from your municipal supply or well is probably far filthier, you just don't know it. Ignorance is bliss, right?

Sue

Top
#184071 - 10/02/09 10:50 PM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: Susan]
Kingarthur Offline
Newbie

Registered: 09/26/09
Posts: 32
Loc: Texas
So, what should the backpacker bring to capture rain water to refill camel backs/similar systems when a body of water is not readily available-but rain water is?
_________________________
The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.

Top
#184078 - 10/02/09 11:15 PM Re: System for collecting rainwater while camping? [Re: Kingarthur]
Exploriment Offline
Newbie

Registered: 12/14/04
Posts: 36
Loc: Ontario
A few months back I set up my hammock as a storm was brewing. I needed to get water, but the rain kept coming down hard. I decided to wait for the rain to abate a bit, but it never really let up. Not to mention that I could see the water that was roiling in the streams was getting muddier as it went on. Decided just to put my collapsible sink and a Nalgene underneath the points where the water was streaming off the tarp. Worked beautifully. No squatting awkwardly by a stream, trying to balance a bottle. In an hour and ten minutes I had collected 6 liters of water. Kept transferring it into a 3L Camelbak, until it was full, then another Nalgene, then the other Nalgene, and then let the sink fill up. Much cleaner then the water I would have gotten from a stream.


Top
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, cliff, Hikin_Jim 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 324 Guests and 6 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.